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June 29, 2012

A Place for Everything and Everything in Place

I am compulsive. There. See? I said it. Yes, I readily admit that my life is almost completely ruled by habits which include, but are not limited to, lists and the insistence on the proverbial, "a place for everything, and everything in its place." Without a list, my poor wee brain is lost. And it drives me positively nuts to waste precious time hunting for something that should be right there.

Earlier this year, I literally and figuratively swept my arm across my teacher-desk and our computer-desk and cleared them off. The resulting mountain of paperwork then was spread across my kitchen table, where it took me the better part of a day to arrange and organize it into Piles To Conquer.

(Thankfully, the kids thought it was great fun to have a picnic on the floor for lunch that day.)

Each pile had a name, such as "Phone Calls" or "Mail" or "Reading" or "Ave Momma" (my rosary making mission), each of which I designated with a bright pink post-it note. I even had a pile called, "Scarlett O'Hara" (because after all, tomorrow is another day) and "Rhett Butler" (because, frankly my dear, I don't give a.....well, you get the idea). Once the piles were complete and the mountain of paperwork had been reduced to a molehill, I stacked it all up in a box and placed it next to my desk. (Although I was not happy to discover that I hadn't thought ahead to write the titles on the post notes upside down, so they would stick up from the box legibly. Note to self for next time!)

Over the next several weeks, I plowed through each section of the box in order of priority. And let me tell you, it was one of the most wonderful feelings of accomplishment I've ever had!

Sometimes, however, in homeschooling, child-rearing, or just plain life, we don't get such a tidy checklist or To Do pile, from which we proudly can mark off our achievements. In fact, more often than not, life in general is so much more fluid and amorphous than that.

Wouldn't it be lovely if, at our birth, the Lord would hand us a checklist of all the things He means for us to accomplish in life, so we could have a clear path to know, love, and serve Him in this world, and thus be happy with Him forever in the next!?

But, that doesn't happen.

Instead, we're left to muddle along and, through both nature and nurture, figure it out for ourselves. You know why? Because every single one of us is equipped with a marvelously irritating quality called Free Will. And it is because of free will that each of us not only ultimately is responsible for our own actions, but also for the effect our actions have on others.

Although the Lord already knows the outcome, He wants us to learn from our past and to live "in the moment", and thus make our decisions for ourselves, not follow a pre-written Guidebook For Your Predestination.

What does this mean for our relationship with Him?

It means that at every opportunity, every day, we have the option to turn toward Him or away from Him. As children of God, we are loved by our Father -- by God Almighty! -- and He wants us to love Him in return. But it is optional. Our option. A matter of choice in our free will.

Whoa.

What kind of a crazy parent is He!? Wouldn't it be easier if He didn't just leave an idiot like me to my own devices, and instead pre-programed me for total obedience and brilliance?

Yes, it might be easier for Him...okay, a lot easier. But it would be beneficial neither to my soul nor to our relationship. It would not give me the opportunity to learn from my triumphs and mistakes, as well as the triumphs and mistakes of others, and make the free choice to turn toward the Lord, seek to discern His will for me, and love him FREELY in return. How generous that is! God risks being spurned by us mere mortals in the hope that, instead, we will love Him freely in return.

I mean, c'mon, would you really feel as well-loved if your parent, spouse, child, or friend was compelled to "love him/her or else!"? It is precisely because of our freedom of choice that we are able to pursue the love of God wholly, completely, and fiercely -- or, you might say, with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

So, the next time you are lamenting that everything is not in place, and that you certainly don't feel you are in a place that is close to God, do this:

Stop complaining. Get up off your duff. Dust off your free will. Organize your life, even if you begin with just one simple aspect of it. And listen to your Father's advice. Beat a path to the tabernacle. Turn to the God of love and ask His Son to embrace you and guide you in all that you do.

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ST. ANTHONY, Help Me Find...

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I'm a Catholic homeschooling wife and mother of six Lilliputians, the eldest of whom is adopted with severe special needs. We seek to know, love, and serve God in this world and be happy with Him forever in Heaven. C'mon along, y'all! When I'm not sitting with my feet up at the beach eating bon-bons, I create rosary wrap bracelets. The rosary is the only bracelet you'll ever need! Shop for yourself or a faith-friend at AveMomma.com today!

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Morning Offering

Oh my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world, joining with it the offering of my every thought, word, and action of this day.

Oh my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can and I offer them, together with myself, to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them to the interests of Thy Sacred Heart. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

TODAY's TINY THOUGHT: Remember in homeschooling, not every day will be perfect, but every day will be blessed!

FATHER JOHN HARDON, S.J.:"Catholic homeschooling is the planned and organized teaching and training of children at home, for their peaceful and effective life in this world, and for their eternal salvation in the world to come."

TODAY'S DIVINE OFFICE

Click the books to pray today's readings for the Divine Office, the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayers of the Church which consecrate our every hour in every circumstance to "prayer without ceasing."

Catholic Homeschooling

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2221 The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.

2222 Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons. Showing themselves obedient to the will of the Father in heaven, they educate their children to fulfill God's law.

2223 Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues.

2229 As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental.